Indians Prospect Insider

The good news: the Lake County Captains won their playoff series! The bad news: the Akron Aeros dropped to a 2-0 series deficit. Luckily, the Aeros will be coming home to Canal Park, where they are 46-26 on the season tonight to attempt to rebound now that their backs are against the wall. Until then, join Jim Piascik and take a short trip Around The Farm to check out all the playoff action from last night.

2012 was a mixed bag for the Carolina Mudcats, playing their inaugural season in Zebulon, NC after a quarter of a century in nearby Kinston. The Mudcats didn't set the Carolina League on fire by any stretch, but a bevy of good prospects showcased their talents here this season, in what turned into a year of massive development for several top prospects. Join Jim Pete in the second-to-last edition of Fishing for Mudcats, as the season closes shop...

The 2012 Fall Instructional League gets underway next week out in Goodyear, Arizona. Over a span of a month around 50 players will participate in weight training and conditioning drills, on-field instruction, and play in 14 games until it wraps up on Friday October 12th. Tony has the details on what players are going out there and the schedule the next four weeks. Be sure to follow the IPI all fall for updates on the happenings in "Instructs".

With their record at 58-79, the Indians have become difficult to watch for many fans. With only 25 games left to play, interest in the Tribe seems to be waning each day. However, IPI's Steve Orbanek suggests that fans should look at these final 25 games in a different light to find some possible enjoyment.

The Indians fell short in their quest to sweep the Tigers as they were on the short end of a 7-1 score last night. Ubaldo Jimenez pitched well well for seven innings before falling apart in the eighth inning, and the offense continued its struggle to score runs. Charlie Adams shares his second thoughts on the game.

Enter the playoffs. The Akron Aeros and the Lake County Captains both started their respective playoff series on Wednesday night, and with mixed results. The Aeros lost their game 4-2, while the Captains won their game 5-4. Jesus Aguilar rolled out a couple of hits for Akron, while Lake County filled the stat sheet, as always. Not one, but TWO first round draft picks scored four of the five runs for the Captains. Find out who...after the jump...

The Bowie Baysox slugged three home runs to beat the Akron Aeros, 4-2, in the opening game of the Eastern League Western Division Series at Prince George’s Stadium. The Baysox (1-0) now lead by one game in the best of five series, which continues Thursday at 7:05 p.m. in Maryland.

The Lake County Captains clung to a one-run lead on Wednesday as reliever Nick Pasquale pitched the Captains to a 5-4 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods. Right-hander Cody Anderson (4-7, 3.20) took the bump for the Captains to counter Bowling Green's Parker Markel (11-5, 3.53), who has been the Hot Rods most formidable starter during the second half of the season.

The Scrappers and Spikes finished what they started way back in June on Wednesday, squaring off one final time to close out the 2012 season. The Scrappers entered the finale on a five game slide, and just 1-9 in their last ten games to cap off a terrible second half of 2012.

Born and raised an Indians fan in Avon Lake, OH, Nick Hamilton now has one of the most unique perspectives of the Indians. Not only is he a diehard fan of the team and was drafted by the team he loves, but his father is the Voice of the Indians. Sean Mahon recently sat down with Hamilton out in Arizona and talked about his love of the Indians, his perseverance overcoming obstacles on and off the diamond, and his dreams.

The 2012 Minor League Baseball playoffs get underway tonight, and two Indians’ affiliates Low-A Lake County and Double-A Akron are a part of the postseason fun this year. Tony provides a brief preview for Lake County and Akron with the pitching probables for each series, the game schedule for the duration of the playoffs for both teams, some recent additions to both rosters, and more.

Things did not look good for the Indians Tuesday night. It had been nearly a month since the Tribe has last won back-to-back games and nearly three months since the team won back-to-back games on the road. Plus, after losing 29 of their last 25 games, who could favor the Indians anyhow? Yet, somehow the Indians won and improved their record to 9-5 against the Tigers this season. Steve Orbanek offers some second thoughts on what went wrong and right for the Tribe in this one.

The Scrappers lost the first game of their season-ending two-game series against the State College Spikes, coming out on the wrong end of an extra-inning 5-4 walk off. Before losing in the bonus frames, the Scrappers did take a 4-1 lead in the middle innings.

The Aeros capped off their Eastern League best 82-59 season this past week and are now gearing up for the playoffs! Before we move on, though, it's good to look back at what the final week of the Aeros' regular season held for the team. Jesus Aguilar continued hitting, the starting pitching was (mostly) fantastic, and the Aeros won four of their six games. So Launch off with Jim Piascik and the Aeros to read about the week that was.

Baseball season can seem long and tedious at times, especially for someone who has played nearly every day, but for Akron Aeros’ first baseman Jesus Aguilar, it’s all about enjoying the opportunities. Aguilar finished off another good developmental year with the Indians and now gets to have fun with his Akron teammates in the Eastern League playoffs.

The Indians may be scuffling since the end of July, but for whatever reason, they continue to play the Tigers tough this season and won another matchup against them yesterday 3-2. Corey Kluber put forth his most consistent outing of the season for the Indians, the bullpen did its job late, and Asdrubal Cabrera had two quality run scoring plate appearances. Adam McGavin shares his thoughts on the game.

The regular season is nearly over, with Mahoning Valley straggling on for two more games, but Columbus, Akron, Carolina and Lake County all closed out their regular seasons on Labor Day. There are three familiar faces at the top of ATF, and all three are heading to the playoffs, ready to do some damage. Join Jim Pete for his regular season finale...sort of...after the jump...

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!